1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a print layout device, a print layout method and a storage medium, and in particular to a print layout device, a print layout method and a storage medium that are appropriate for a system constituted by an information processing apparatus, such as a personal computer, and a printer for printing data for which an optimal margin is set.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, for printing, a binding margin is set simply by shifting a print position horizontally or vertically a distance equivalent to the binding margin. Therefore, when a specific binding margin has been set, data to be printed may extend out beyond the limits of the printable area on a sheet. And when a binding margin is located in the center of a sheet, as is a margin for bookbinding, setting the margin is not possible.
The following problems are inherent to the above prior art. Since, as is described above, the print position is simply shifted horizontally or vertically when setting a margin, for a specific margin, data to be printed extend out beyond the limits of a printable area when the print position has been shifted, and some data are not printed.
Furthermore, to staple the left upper corner of a sheet, for example, a margin is generally set that it is shifted to the right and down (a compound directional movement to the right and down). With the conventional margin setting process, however, margins can be set only vertically and horizontally (along the long side and the short side of a sheet). In addition, since only vertical and horizontal margins can be set, a binding margin can not be set for that portion of a sheet that is folded once for bookbinding.
To resolve the above shortcomings, it is one objective of the present invention to provide a print layout device, a print layout method and a storage medium therefor with which all data can always be printed by ensuring that data to be printed do not extend out beyond the limits of a printable area, as may occur when the conventional margin setting process is used; with which a margin can be set by employing in addition a special print method, such as an N-up print method; and with which a binding margin can be set for bookbinding.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a system wherein, upon receiving from a user an instruction for the printing of a margin, an information processing apparatus, such as a host, can prepare data for margin printing, and can output to a printer the data that are to be printed.
It is an additional objective of the present invention to provide, without a new printer driver being prepared for a conventional printer that has no margin print function, a system that can instruct margin printing and obtain as an output a result desired by a user, i.e., a portion for preparing a PDL (Page Description Language) from a DDI (Device Driver Interface) function that is output by a graphic engine, or rather, a GDI (Graphical Device Interface).
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, a print layout device for providing a layout for a recording sheet comprises:
setting means for setting a margin for a sheet;
determination means for ascertaining the size of a printable area based on the margin that is set;
enlargement/reduction means for enlarging or reducing data to be printed in consonance with the printable area; and
layout means for providing a layout for the margin for the sheet and for the data to be printed that are enlarged or reduced, and for employing the layout to control the printing.
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, the setting means is capable of independently setting vertical and horizontal margins for a sheet.
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, the setting means is capable of setting a binding margin adjacent to the line of the fold in a sheet that is folded once.
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, the setting means is capable of setting margins that are equidistant from the line of the fold in the center of a sheet that is folded once.
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, the enlargement/reduction means enlarges or reduces data to be printed using an enlargement/reduction ratio that provides a maximum inclusive area that does not exceed the limits of a printable area.
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, the enlargement/reduction means employs a designated, arbitrary enlargement/reduction ratio to enlarge or reduce the data to be printed.
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, the enlargement/reduction means so enlarges or reduces the data to be printed that the ratio of the length and the width of the data, after being enlarged or reduced, to that of the original data is not changed.
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, the layout means centers the enlarged or reduced data to be printed in an area on a sheet that excludes the binding margins, and performs the layout process.
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, a print layout device further comprises storage means for storing size information for data to be printed that is used for the determination of an enlargement/reduction ratio.
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, when a size for data to be printed and a sheet size differ, the enlargement/reduction means employs the size of the data to be printed and the sheet size to obtain an enlargement/reduction ratio for providing the binding margin, and the layout means performs a layout process for a sheet based on the enlargement/reduction ratio that is obtained and, in accordance with the layout, prints out the data to be printed.
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, the layout means prints data for a plurality of pages on one sheet using a layout for a sheet for which a margin has been set.
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, the layout means is capable of adjusting the position of binding margins on the obverse and the reverse sides of a sheet, so that for double-sided printing the binding margin will be located at the same position on the sheet.
To achieve the above objectives, to perform a printing process the present invention can be applied for a system by which the data to be printed can be transmitted by an upper-level device, such as a computer, to a printing device, such as a printer.
To achieve the above objectives, the present invention comprises:
saving means for temporarily saving data in an intermediate code form that differs from that for the data to be printed; and
preparation means for preparing data to be printed based on the data that are temporarily saved.
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, a print layout device for performing a layout process for a recording sheet comprises:
dispatcher means for receiving, from drawing means and depending on which OS is used, common print information that is generated and is based on drawing data prepared by an arbitrary application;
intermediate data conversion means for converting into intermediate data the print information received by the dispatcher means and for storing the intermediate data in spooling means;
setting means for setting a margin for the sheet;
processing means for processing the intermediate data stored in the spooling means in consonance with a printable area based on the margin that is acquired, and for outputting the processed intermediate data in the drawing data form to the drawing means; and
print data generation means for converting the print information received by the dispatcher means into print data consisting of a control command and for outputting the print data to an external device.
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, the processing means changes the size of the intermediate data to a maximum size that is available in the printable area and for which the ratio of the width and the length of the drawing data is not changed.
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, the drawing data are GDI (Graphical Device Interface) data.
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, the print information is DDI (Device Driver Interface) information.
To achieve the above objectives, according to the present invention, the data to be printed are written in a page description language.